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This Month in Navy History:
October 3rd 1776 The American vessel Lee capture the British vessel Sally of the New England costs. The Hms Triton is later captured by the Franklin and Hancock
October 17 1812- The USS Wasp captures the HMS Frolic off the coast of Virginia
October 20th 1828- Battle of Navirino- A combined, French, British and Russian fleet annihilated an Ottoman fleet in the Navirino Harbor.
October 15 1917 The USS Cassin is struck by a German torpedo off the coast of Ireland..
The Battle of Cape Esperance 11-12 October. 1942
The US force of two heavy and two light cruisers and five destroyer attacked the Tokyo Express attempting to reinforce Guadalcanal. I the Battle the US force bested the Japanese one, sinking a cruiser and destroyer, and heavily damaging a second cruiser.
Battle of Santa Cruz Islands- October 26th , 1942
On October 26th US and Japanese carriers once again exchanged blows. The Enterprise and Hornet’s planes successfully disabled the light carrier Zuiho and put the fleet carrier Shokaku out of the war for nine months. However the carrier Hornet was sunk by Japanese planes
October 1, 1943 The Eaton- DD-510 sinks the Japanese submarine I-20.
October 3rd, 1943 Destroyer Henley DD-391 was sunk off New Guinea by a Japanese submarine.
October 9th , 1943-The Destroyer Buck DD-420 is sunk by an enemy submarine off the coast Italy.
October 15th 1943- The USS Pompano is reported lost in the Pacific.
October 1st- 1944- The USS Snapper (SS-185) sinks the Japanese coastal miner the Aijiro
October 3rd- 1944 The USS Shelton (DE-407) is sunk by an enemy submarine. US forces mistakenly identify the USS Seawolf as the sub that attacked. It is sunk by the American forces.
Battle of Leyte-
October 24th 1944-
The last major naval Battle of the Pacific took part off Leyte after the American landing there. The Japanese divided there forces into three groups. The first blood was drawn by American submarines Darter and Dace which sank two Japanese cruisers and reported the positions of the Japanese ships. An air battle ensued which resulted in the sinking of the light carrier Princeton. The American sank the super battleship Musashi.
The last engagement between battleships then ensued. A Japanese force of two battleships and cruisers and destroyers attempted to penetrate the Leyte Gulf through the Surigao Straits. Awaiting them were two forces of destroyers, a force of cruisers and six battleships. In one of the most one sided victories of the American Navy the Japanese ships were hit first by the destroyers, then by the cruisers, then by the battleships, which were all perfectly positioned and mostly equipped with advance fire control radar. The two battleships were soon sunk, as well as three destroyers, other then damage to one destroyer the US force suffered no damage.
October 25th- Battle of Leyte- Samar
The second stage of the battle occurred when a Japanese force led by admiral Kurita of battleships and cruisers came upon a force of escort carriers of task force Tafy 3 commanded by Rear Admiral AF Sprague, off Samar. The escort carriers were hit repeatedly by the guns of the Japanese force. However, daring attacks by three American destroyers, as well as desperate attacks by all of the carriers planes succeeded in driving off the superior Japanese force. The Americans lost only the escort carriers Gambier Bay and St Lo. Two destroyers and a destroyer escort that had gallantly attacked the Japanese battleships were also lost. The invasion fleet however, was safe.
The final act in the battle occurred when US aircraft attacked the Northern Japanese force. Three Japanese carriers were sunk as well as a cruiser and destroyer. Most of the remaining vessels were heavily damaged.
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